NZ Politics Daily - 4 April 2018
4 April 2018
Today's content
Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download).
Transport and road safety
Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): A rail Government vs a motorway Opposition
Michael Daly (Stuff): No Government suggestion to 'universally' reduce speed limit to 70kmh
Herald: Higher petrol tax 'not a new tax' – PM
Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On making our roads safer, less congested
Claire Trevett (Herald):Jacinda Ardern sets out Government's transport plan, including nationwide fuel tax
Claire Trevett (Herald): Motorways are out, safety and public transport in - but drivers will be hit in the pocket
Rob Maetzig (Stuff): The tragedy of the Safe System - it's not working on our roads
Simon Wilson (Herald): A big shift in Government's transport priorities
Michael Daly (Stuff): What are the chances of a 70kmh open road speed limit?
Jo Moir (Stuff): Government to invest in road safety and rapid rail at expense of state highway upgrades
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Fuel tax hikes to pay for rail lines
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Govt review of speed limits, petrol tax could be on cards
RNZ: Should the speed limit be 70km/h on rural roads?
Sally Murphy (RNZ): Akl drivers facing potential 25 cent fuel tax
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Road crashes aren't speed-related or tourist-related. It's idiot-related
Martin Johnston (Herald): Road toll bad this Easter - but it was three times worse in early 1970s
Matt Stewart (Stuff): MP Chris Bishop fears Lower Hutt road plans will suffer from Labour's land transport policy
RNZ: Ritchies defends looking overseas for drivers
John Anthony (Stuff): Government should decline Ritchies' request to hire 110 migrant bus drivers, union says
No Right Turn: Another company after cheap migrant labour
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Sixty-eight per cent of cyclists say drivers are not prepared to 'share the road'
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Air NZ pulls out, up, and away from Kāpiti
Herald: Drone imperilled plane, but nobody called police
Health
Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On Middlemore Hospital as a symptom of neglect
Tom Furley (RNZ): Middlemore Hospital: Three more buildings of 'high concern'
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Health Minister receives advice on Middlemore Hospital issues as blame game continues
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Circuit breakers contribute to Middlemore's power problems
RNZ: Listen: Counties Manukau DHB ex-manager on maintenance problems
Emily Ford (Stuff): Health system underfunding worse than PM expected, as more problems uncovered at Middlemore Hospital
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Don't blame us for Middlemore problems, Ardern says
1News: ‘We have rot, we have mould, we have sewage’ – Health Minister asks Middlemore Hospital for explanation over faulty buildings
Aaron Leaman (Stuff):Bob Simcock says Nigel Murray spending debacle won't force his retirement
Michelle Nicholls (The Wireless): Opinion: ‘We are a workforce who are being exploited’
Tony Blakely, Nick Wilson, Anja Mizdrak and Cristina Cleghorn (Public Health Expert): And now the Brits are doing it: A sugary drink tax levy on the industry
Simon Day (Spinoff): Power to the people: finding a cure for healthcare inequity
Sarah Harris (Herald): Kiwis encouraged to note death wishes in an Advanced Care Plan for family and medical staff
Media
Richard Harman (Politik): RNZ lawyers up ready for Select Committee showdown
Watch: PM stands by minister - 'People will make mistakes'
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Ardern says someone other than Curran could have called Griffin
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Curran denies telling Griffin not to show for select committee
Stuff: PM, minister deny instructions to RNZ chair to stay away
Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Curran says RNZ board should correct record asap
Herald: Radio NZ chairman Richard Griffin encouraged against select committee appearance
Nicky Hager (Public Address): The crisis is all around us, and so are the solutions
Alex Braae (Spinoff): Why small town papers are worth saving
Catherine Delahunty (Spinoff): “Doesn’t It Just Make You Want to Vomit?”: Breakfast TV, the C word and the stolen Alpaca
Government
Fran O'Sullivan (Herald): Jacinda Ardern finally in the driver's seat
Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Labour's new strategy - bury bad news in more bad news
Muriel Newman (NZCPR): Labour’s Leadership Vacuum
Guardian: Jacinda Ardern answers questions from Guardian readers – video
Henry Cooke (Stuff): Green members threatening to quit if Julie Anne Genter wins co-leadership
Justice and police
Herald: We're sorry: Parliament passes law to allow wiping of convictions for gay men
RNZ: MPs vote for historical homosexual convictions to be wiped
NZ Herald editorial: Finlayson bill protects judges too much
Brian Rudman (Herald): Time for Jacinda Ardern to call in a favour
Mānia Clarke (Māori TV): Opposition mounting against $bil Waikato mega-prison
Anna Leask (Herald): Fatal shooting: Police explain why SH1 was closed for 12 hours
Nicki Harper (Hawke’s Bay Today): Sensible Sentencing Trust's Garth McVicar stands by comments
Superannuation overpayments
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): MSD overpayments reveal 'double standard' advocate says
Herald: Thousands of pensioners have $3.8m debt wiped
Energy
Geoff Bertram (Stuff): Way to be cleared for big electricity players to prey on low-income households
Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Kids, Māori miss out on winter payment
Defence
Stuff: Tim Keating to stand down as head of the New Zealand Defence Force
Lucy Bennett (Herald): Tim Keating to step down as NZDF chief, says departure not linked to Operation Burnham
Environment
Benedict Collins (RNZ): Experts warned govt not to touch waste-to-energy scheme
Alexander Gillespie (Stuff): PM's oil and gas decisions will test her 'nuclear moment' claim for climate change
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Early action on climate change would save New Zealand $30b, report finds
Damien Venuto (Herald): To act now or later: the $30 billion climate change question
1News: Early action on climate change will save billions, report finds
Rob Fenwick (Herald): Reducing city's waste mountain? It's not rocket science
Primary industries
Herald: Financial pressure builds on cattle disease farmers waiting for compo
Evan Harding (Southland Times): 'Higher bar' set for dairy farming in Southland
State care of children
RNZ: How broad should government abuse inquiry go?
1News: The number of Kiwi kids in state care hits an all-time high at over 6,000
Other
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Leaked report urges suspension of aluminium panels on high-rises
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Immigration agents caught out over illegal rubber-stamping
Brian Easton (Pundit): Responsibility and Policy
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Pasifika ECE services struggle to find fluent teachers
Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Tower Insurance hikes premiums in quake-prone areas
Jenny McArthur (The Conversation): The urban agenda: what will New Zealand’s new government bring for towns and cities?
Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): A “very, very healthy economy”?